INDUCTIVE 
BIBLE STUDIES 

Luke 
Jeremiah 



BALLANTINE 



BIBLE STUDY DEPARTMENT 



KEY 
TO INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDIES 



Second Series 



Studies in the Gospel of Luke 
Studies in the Book of Jeremiah 



By W. G. BALLANTINE, LL. D. 



New York 

The International Committee of Young Men's Christian Associations 

3 West Twenty-Ninth Street 



\ 



SECOND COPY, 
IS09. 







40295 

Copyrighted 1899 

by 

The International Committee of Young Men's Christian Associations, 

New York. 



*©CWF3 



18U9 







VI UI V- 



1-0-P3C6-7-99 






INDUCTIVE STUDIES IN THE GOSPEL 
OF LUKE. 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 

The purpose of these lessons is to guide the 
student in gaining for himself a genuine acquain- 
tance with the Gospel of Luke as a whole, and 
with the principal ideas in it. The lessons do 
not aim at doing the work for the student, but 
at showing him how to do it for himself. Some 
of the objections made to the studies in Mark 
have been based upon experience of the diffi- 
culty of inducing young men to make any pre- 
paration of the lessons at all. It may as well be 
frankly recognized at the outset that inductive 
study is impossible unless the members of the 
class can be induced to give a reasonable amount 
of time (say twenty minutes a day) to prepara- 
tion during the week. Very profitable Bible 
classes are conducted without asking work of 
the members outside of the hour of meeting, 
but such classes are devotional or evangelistic, 
or simply courses of lectures; they are not 



4 

inductive, and they never can train men in the 
habit of independent private study. 

At the same time it is plain that there are 
many earnest and intelligent young men in the 
associations who have had no experience in 
inductive work and who, after entering the class 
with enthusiasm, are sure to become discour- 
aged at first. When the class assembles, and it 
appears that several have not succeeded in mak- 
ing a satisfactory preparation, the leader should 
not be surprised or impatient, but then and 
there should have the Bibles opened and by 
kindly suggestions should lead the members 
through the inductive process. After a practice 
of this kind the preparation of the next lesson 
will be much easier. On no account should the 
class meeting be turned into a lecture by the 
leader. 

In a complete application of the inductive 
method the first operation of the class should be 
a general and cursory reading of the book to 
discover its principal topics or main divisions ; 
the second operation is to define what the book 
says about those topics. On account of the 
brevity of the time at command, and of the 
inexperience of our classes, it has seemed best 
to assume in this series that the primary opera- 
tion has been already performed and to proceed 
at once to the work of the secondary stage. . But 



5 
no question indicates what answer the author 
expects, so that the lessons are still truly induc- 
tive. 

To some persons it may seem a heavy under- 
taking to study the whole book of Luke in 
eleven lessons. But the worst fault of ordinary 
Bible study is that we so seldom treat any book 
as a whole. We do not allow the author to 
make a cumulative impression. We will not let 
him outline a large and complex picture. We 
insist on using the microscope upon the frag- 
ments of the building, and never stand off to take 
in the general plan. Three months is, how- 
ever, really a long time to spend upon a little 
book of less than seventy pages, and it is not 
unfair to expect an intelligent young man, who 
has possessed a general acquaintance with it all 
his life, within that time to discover its main 
teachings. 

Several persons have urged that the lessons 
on Mark contain too much matter, and that for 
younger students they should be divided. Not 
at all; that is not the scientific pedagogical 
method, as every common school teacher will 
say. The lower the grades in the public schools 
the wider is the ground covered in a lesson. 
Advanced pupils study counties and states; 
younger pupils study continents and hemis- 
pheres. If the lessons seem to contain too 



much matter treat that matter more in an out- 
line way. In order to do this it may be desir- 
able to double the ground covered, but it never 
will be wise to subdivide except for very 
advanced classes. 

These lessons are planned so as to keep the 
student turning the leaves of Luke, weighing 
and discriminating the material for three 
months. The judicious leader will not insist on 
more precise or exhaustive work than his men 
can do. All that he will ask is that every 
answer given be really based on impressions 
gained in reading Luke (not Matthew or John). 
But, of course, the more complete the answers 
can be made the better. To guide unpracticed 
leaders a complete key is provided, indicating 
answers to all of the questions with references 
to chapter and verse. But it is hoped that no 
one will depend upon the key, or use it as any- 
thing but a general guide. By no means should 
the key ever be placed in the hands of a student. 
The beauty of the method is that the student is 
never to know what the answers in the key are. 
He goes to Luke and satisfies himself what 
Luke says, and that is all that he needs or cares 
to know. 

Each student is advised to provide himself 
with a copy of the Revised Version of the New 
Testament. An edition that is printed without 



7 
columns so as to show the paragraphs, as ordi- 
nary books do, is desirable. The Oxford long 
primer, crown 8vo, can be bought in cloth for 
20 cents, and is especially recommended. 
If a man is going to study Luke for three 
months he can afford to expend 20 cents 
in procuring the best edition, and it will make 
more difference in the result than many would 
think. Each student should have also a cheap 
note book and should compel himself to note 
down his results every day. It is well to write 
the notes of private study on the right hand 
pages, leaving the left hand pages for additional 
suggestions received in class. Notes on the 
margin of the Bible are liable to be in the way 
of further and deeper study. 

The leader of the class is advised to have a 
blackboard and to write down upon it rapidly 
the substance of the answers presented by the 
class. He must be sure to go over all the 
ground of the lesson in some way. Let him 
cultivate the habit of getting clear views of gen- 
erals and of massing particulars. He must be 
satisfied to leave a host of subordinate questions 
unanswered. The whole aim of this series of 
studies is merely to see the simplest great ideas 
that lie on the surface of the book as a whole. 
It will be observed that no text book is used, or 
even referred to, except the Gospel itself, not 



even the Bible dictionary. A common Cruden's 
Concordance will be found useful in rapid work. 
But a concordance is only an index. The stu- 
dent is not expected to seek additional light 
from other sources or to explain what Luke has 
left obscure. He is to study only what is plain- 
est and clearest. 

What we wish to do above all things is to 
bring young men into living acquaintance with 
the Lord Jesus. It is believed that such study 
of a Gospel as is here outlined is better than 
any other expedient to reach that end. The 
author of these questions steps gladly into the 
background and leaves his students face to face 
with those who ' * from the beginning were eye- 
witnesses and ministers of the word. " 



LESSON I. 



THE INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

1. What does Luke say his object was in 

writing this book ? 

To give to Theophilus the certainty that comes 
from a full, orderly and accurate account, based upon 
the testimony of eye-witnesses and actors. 

2. What facts connected with the birth and 

early life of Jesus does Luke make most 
prominent ? 

A forerunner was prepared, i. 5-25, 57-80. 

His birth was announced by the angel Gabriel, 
i. 26. 

His mother was a virgin of Nazareth espoused to 
Joseph, who was of the house of David. 

The joyful pride of the virgin, i. 46-55. 

He was born in Bethlehem, the city of David, in 
the time of Augustus, ii. 1-6. 

He was laid in a manger, ii. 7. 

The appearance of the angels to the shepherds, 
ii. 8-14. 

Visit of the shepherds to the manger, ii. 15-20. 

His circumcision, ii. 21. 

His presentation in the temple, ii. 22-38. 

His life in Nazareth, ii. 39. 



10 



The visit to Jerusalem when he was twelve years 
old, ii. 41-51. 

His gradual growth, ii. 52. 

3. What sort of home life was Jesus born into ? 

What were the characteristics of his 

mother and her friends, their degree of 

intelligence, culture, social standing, etc. ? 

Mary shows modesty, thoughtfulness, frankness, 

faith, obedience, readiness for a great divine call, the 

loveliness of motherhood. 

The visit of Mary and Elizabeth is a beautiful 
example of the friendship of pure and noble women. 
Note their refinement, dignity, piety, familiarity with 
Scripture, mutual regard, sympathy in sublime hopes 
and experiences. 

Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, is the wife of a priest. 
Mary is espoused to a carpenter of Nazareth, poor, yet 
a descendant of David, with royal traditions. All of the 
circle have the intelligence and refinement that come 
rom knowledge of the Old Testament and from genuine 
piety. 

4. Mention the various persons who were 

interested in the babe, and their ideas, 
expectations, feelings and expressions. 

Elizabeth recogniz es the lordship of Jesus and the 
joy of his coming, i. 42. 

The shepherds, simple-minded, afraid, interested, 
pious, joyful. 

The angels, sympathetic, joyful, praising God 
foresee peace on earth. 

Simeon, venerable, expectant, satisfied, foresees 
salvation for Jews and Gentiles. 

Anna, much like Simeon. 



II 

5. How much can we learn of the boy Jesus 

from Luke's story ? 

He felt that God was his Father. 

He forgot all else when in God's house. 

He was deeply interested in learning divine truth. 

His questions and answers showed amazing spir- 
itual understanding. 

He felt that his mother should have known that 
there was but one place where he could be, if not with 
her. 

He was instantly and perfectly obedient (tender 
and natural relation of mother and son). 

He continued to grow mentally and physically. 

6. Is there anything to indicate from whom 

Luke got his information regarding this 
period of Jesus' life ? 
His mother's memory, ii. 51. 



LESSON II. 



THE PERSON OF JESUS- 

Luke presents Jesus as divine and human. 

1. Who was the father of Jesus ( physically 
speaking) ? 
The Holy Ghost, i. 34, 35. 



12 

2. Did he have any special introduction to 

his public work ? 

John the Baptist prepared the popular mind, 
iii. 1-17. 

At his baptism the Holy Spirit came upon him, 
and a voice came from heaven identifying him, iii. 21, 22. 

3. Did he ever have any internal struggles, 

temptations or conflicts ? 
The temptation in the wilderness, iv. 1-13. 
He dreaded the fire and baptism, xii. 49, 50. 
The agony in the garden, xxii. 39-44. 

4. Did Jesus apply to himself any peculiar 

names or make any special claims ? 
He called himself usually the Son of Man, vi. 5, 
and elsewhere (twenty-seven times in all) : 

The Son, in contrast with God the Father, x. 22. 

Son of God, xxii. 70. 

The Christ, xxiv. 26, 46. 

He claimed power to forgive sins, v. 20-24. 

He claimed a seat at God's right hand, xxii. 69. 

5. Did men or spirits ever bear any peculiar 

testimony to him ? 

John the Baptist testified to his preeminent great- 
ness, iii. 15-17. 

The demons testified that he was the Son of God, 
v. 41. 

6. Did he ever compare himself with great 

men of history ? 

He called himself greater than Jonah and Solo- 
mon, xi. 29-32. 



13 

7. Did his body ever take on any wonderful 

appearance ? 
He was transfigured, ix. 28-32. 

8. Did he ever accept any unusual honors ? 

He entered Jerusalem as king, xx. 29-49. 

9. Did he explain the source of his authority ? 

No; for the questioners were cowardly and dis- 
honest, xx. 1-8. 

10. Did he claim any peculiar knowledge of 

God? 
Yes; he claimed unique knowledge of him, x. 22. 

11. Did he refer to any special facts as show- 

ing who he was ? 
He told John's disciples to tell John what they 
saw him doing, vii. 22. 

12. Did he show any unusual powers ? If so, 

what ? (Here give a general account of 

his miracles.) 

He showed power — 
To cure diseases : 

In general, iv. 40, vii. 2, 21, 22, xiii. 10-13. 

Fever, iv. 38. 

Leprosy, v. 12, xvii. 11 -19. 

Palsy, v. 18. 

Withered hand, vi. 6. 

Issue, viii. 43-48. 

Blindness, xviii. 35-43. 

Cut ear, xxii. 50, 51. 
To raise the dead, vii. 11-15, viii. 41-56. 
To control the sea, viii. 22-25. 
To control the fish in the sea, v. 1-10. 



14 
To feed the multitude, ix. 12-17. 
To control demons, iv.33, viii. 2, 26-39, * x - 37~43» 
xi. 14. 

13. What is the most extraordinary fact re- 
lated of Jesus ? 
He rose from the dead, xxiv. 36-43. 



LESSON III. 



THE PUBLIC WORK OF JESUS, 

1. Where, geographically, did Jesus spend his 

time, so far as indicated by Luke? 
In the wilderness, iv. 1. 

In Galilee and about the lake, iv. 16, v. 1, viii. 22. 
Makes a journey toward Jerusalem, ix. 51, xvii. 11. 
At Jericho, Bethany and Jerusalem, xix. 1, 29, 
xxi. 37. 

He ascended from Olivet, xxiv. 50. 

2. How did Jesus spend his time? How did 

he gain public attention? 
In traveling about healing and teaching, iv. 40- 
44, vii. 22, viii. 1, x. 1, xiii. 32, xix. 47. 

3. In what sort of places do we read of him? 

In synagogues, iv. 16, 44. 

In deserts, iv. 42. 

In boats, v. 3, viii. 22. 



15 

At feasts, v. 29, vii. 36, xi. 37, xiv. 1. 

In the fields, vi. 1. 

On the mountain, vi. 12. 

In cities and villages, viii. 1. 

In homes, x. 38, xix. 5. 

In the temple, xx. 1. 

4. With whom did he speak? 

The devil, iv. 3. 

Audiences in synagogues, iv. 16. 
Demons, iv. 41. 
Multitudes in the open, v. 1. 
The sick, v. 12, xvii. 11. 

Pharisees, lawyers and doctors, v. 17, xx. 21, 
xxii. 66. 

Publicans, v. 27, xv. 1. 

His disciples, vi. 20, xxiv. 13. 

Mourners, vii. 13. 

John's disciples, vii. 19. 

Sinful women, vii. 44. 

The dead, ix. 54. 

Moses and Elijah, ix. 30. 

Mary at his feet, x. 39. 

Pilate, xxiii. 3. 

Women of Jerusalem, xxiii. 27. 

The penitent malefactor, xxiii. 43. 

5. With whom did he associate ? Was there 

anything peculiar in his habits? 
With all classes. There was nothing peculiar. 

6. How did his ways compare with those of 

John the Baptist? 
John withdrew from common life and contact with 
men ; Jesus lived in the midst of common life. Yet both 
were wisdom's children, though both failed to please that 
generation, vii. 31-35. 



16 

7. What were his most striking characteristics 

as a teacher, in method, rhetoric, etc. ? 

Simplicity and directness. 

Abundant illustration from nature and common 
life — parables. 

Each point is made in very strong language, leav- 
ing qualifications and other sides of truth to the intelli- 
gence of the hearer, xiv. 26, xvii. 1, 2, 6, xviii. 25. 

8. How far was he indebted to others for 

advice, encouragement, support or enter- 
tainment? 
He received no useful advice from any one, no 
encouragement in his deepest plans. He did receive 
some financial support and entertainment, viii. 1-3, x. 38, 
xix. 5. But he was at times rudely driven away, ix. 53, 
and left destitute, ix. 58. 

9. Did he anticipate any opposition? Did he 

meet with any? 
Yes, iv. 23, ix. 22, xii. 50, xiii. 33, xviii. 31-33, 
xxiii. 33. 

10. Did he organize any work? 

He chose twelve apostles, vi. 13, ix. 1-6, xxiv. 
48, 49. 

He appointed seventy evangelists, x. 1-17. 

11. What were his ideas about the kingdom 

of God? (The expression occurs thirty- 
eight times in Luke. ) 
His work was preaching the kingdom of God, iv. 
43, and it is a glad message, viii. 1. 

The kingdom belongs to the poor, vi. 20, and to 
the childlike, xviii. 16, 17, and the persistent, ix. 62. But 
they are great, vii. 28. 



17 

Its truths are mysteries, viii. 10. 

It is the chief thing to be sought in life, xii. 31. 

We are to pray for its coming, xi. 2. 

It came in that generation, ix. 27. 

Jesus looked forward to eating and drinking with 
the disciples in it, xxii. 16-18, 30. 

People from remote regions shall sit with prophets 
and patriarchs in it, xiii. 28, 29. 

It is like a mustard seed and like leaven, xiii. 18-21. 

It is something internal, not observable, xxii. 20, 21. 

12. Did Jesus say anything about the church? 
Luke records nothing. 



LESSON IV. 



JESUS AND THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE* 

The Gospel of Luke is remarkable for its teach- 
ing of the wideness of God's mercy. 

1. How did Jesus feel about people in physi- 
cal distress ? Mention instances. 

He felt the liveliest kind of sympathy and exerted 
himself to relieve suffering. He touched the leper. He 
healed the sick. A large share of his time was devoted 
to relief of suffering. He fed the hungry. See refer- 
ences under Lesson II, Question 12. 



i8 

2. How did he feel toward disreputable peo- 

ple ? Mention instances. 
He felt a peculiar tenderness, and was ready to 
show it at all times and in all companies. In fact, he 
said that he had come especially for such, v. 31, vii. 36- 
50, x. 30, xiii. 2-5, xiv. 23, xv. 1-32, xvii. 15-19, xviii. 
10-14, xix. 1-10, xxiii. 39-43. 

3. How did he speak of God's feelings to- 

wards sinners ? 
God feels the most earnest solicitude to save them 
and the greatest joy in saving them. See references 
above, especially chapter xv. 

4. How did he regard Samaritans ? 

He seemed anxious to break down prejudice 
against them. He recognized the good in them, made 
the Good Samaritan an example for all, ix. 52, x. 33, 
xvii. 16. 

5. How did he treat women ? Did he ever 

say anything severe about a woman ? 
Do women hold a prominent place in 
this gospel ? 
Jesus always treated women with delicate and 
tender respect, never spoke a severe word to a woman. 
Luke's gospel is peculiarly the gospel of women. The 
following women are mentioned : — 
Elizabeth. 
Mary the Virgin. 
Anna, ii. 36. 

Simon's wife's mother, v. 38. 
Widow of Nain, vii. 11. 
Woman in Simon's house, vii. 37. 
Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, etc. , viii. 3 



19 

J aims' daughter, viii. 40. 
"Woman with the issue, viii. 43. 
Martha and Mary of Bethany, x. 38. 
Woman, xi. 27. 
Woman healed, xiii. 11. 
Mothers with babes, xviii. 15. 
Widow at the treasury, xxi. 2. 
Women at the cross, xxiii. 27, 49, 55. 
Women at the sepulchre, xxiv. 10. 

6. How did he treat children? 

He welcomed them, xviii. 16. He never referred 
to any fault in a child. To receive a child is to receive 
Jesus and God, ix. 46-48. Childlikeness is greatness, 
ix. 48. The child spirit is essential for entrance into the 
kingdom, xviii. 17. The prominence given to the infancy 
of Jesus in the gospel of Luke has glorified motherhood 
and babyhood. 

7. How did he feel toward his enemies ? 

Always forgiving, more sorry for them than for 
himself. He wept over Jerusalem that had rejected His 
salvation, xix. 41, xxiii. 28, 34. 

8. Did he ever denounce any persons ? 

He did not use John the Baptist's method of de- 
nouncing sinners and sins in general. He is not said to 
have denounced ordinary sins and sinners at all. He 
said nothing about any woman's sins except in forgiving, 
never referred to the sins of children. He rebuked un- 
belief, iv. 23-27, ix. 41, xi. 29-32. He denounced hypoc- 
risy, and the Pharisees who were guilty of it, vii. 44, 
xi. 39-52, xii. 1, xvi. 14, 15, xx. 19. 

9. What did he say about the rich ? 

He regarded wealth as a terrible temptation and 
danger, vi. 24, xii. 16-21, xvi. 19-31, viii. 23-30. 



20 

10. Of what character and social rank were 

his chosen friends ? 

They were common people — fishermen, v. 1-5 ; 
publicans, v, 27, vii. 6; satisfying hunger in the wheat- 
fields, vi. 1 ; poor, vi. 20 ; had some means, viii. 3 ; did 
their own work, x. 40. The rich friend, Joseph, did not 
come forward until Jesus was dead, xxiii. 50. 



LESSON V. 



BECOMING A DISCIPLE OF JESUS. 

Jesus requires those who would be his disciples 
to give up the old life of sin, to do what 
he says, and to follow him at whatever 
cost of property, friends, or even life. 
1. What did Jesus say about the privilege and 
responsibility of hearing his message? 
Men may be divided into two classes according as 
they do or do not what Jesus says, vi. 46-49. 

The parable of the sower teaches that the words of 
Jesus may bear fruit or may fail, according as hearts are 
honest and good or not, viii. 4-15. 

Those who hear and do are his mother and breth- 
ren, viii. 19-21, xi. 27, 28. 

Those who heard him were blessed beyond pro- 
phets and kings, x. 23, 24. 



21 

Mary, sitting at his feet to hear his words, had 
chosen the good part, x. 38-42. 

Those who heard Jesus enjoyed a greater privilege 
than those who heard Jonah and Solomon, and so 
incurred a greater guilt, xi. 29-32. 

2. What did he say about gaining eternal life? 

His reply to the lawyer is in x. 25-37, to the ruler 
in xviii. 18-22, 30. In both cases he says, Keep the com- 
mandments in their fullest and deepest meaning — love 
that includes all persons and gives all things. 

3. What did he say about faith? 

He forgave the sins and healed the diseases of 
those who had faith, v. 20, vii. 50, viii. 48, xvii. 19, 
xviii. 42. 

He was delighted with strong faith, vii. 19. 

He was grieved with lack of faith, viii. 25, ix. 41. 

The hardest things are possible to faith, xvii. 6. 

Men are not likely to have faith, xviii. 8. 

He prayed that Peter's faith might not fail, xxii. 32. 

4. What did he say about counting the cost? 

No thoughtful man begins a difficult enterprise 
without counting the cost, xiv. 25-33. 

5. What did he say about confessing and 

denying him? 
Our confessing or denying him decides his con- 
fessing or denying us, xii. 8, 9. 

6. Did he lay down any conditions of disciple- 

ship? 

His invitation is to sinners and the lost, v. 32, 
xix. 10. 

Doing his commands is essential, vi. 46, viii. 21. 

A man must deny himself, not be ashamed, give 
up friends, bear the cross, ix. 23-26, xiv. 26, 27. 

A childlike spirit, ix. 48, xviii. 17. 



22 

The purpose to follow Jesus must be supreme, ix. 
59-62. 

Watchfulness, xii. 45, 46. 

7. What did he advise men to fear? 

God alone, xii. 4, 5. 

8. Did he mention any sin as particularly 

dangerous? 
The sin against the Holy Ghost, xii. 10, 11. 

9. What degree of intelligence did Jesus think 

necessary in order to receive and under- 
stand him ? 
That of children, x. 21. 



LESSON VI. 



CHRISTIAN CHARACTER AND AIMS* 

Jesus desires his followers to have a character 
just like God's character, and he wishes 
them to aim at the establishment of his 
kingdom and at a personal participation 
in it. 

1. What did Jesus wish his followers to have 
as their principal aim in life? 

To have a character like that of their heavenly 
Father, vi. 35. 

To have names written in heaven, x. 20. 

To know the thoughts of Jesus, x. 42. 



23 

To hear and keep the word of God, xi. 28. 

To be rich toward God, xii. 21. 

To have part in the kingdom of God, xii. 31. 

2. How did he wish them to think of wealth 

and money? 
He wished his followers to regard earthly things 
as wholly subordinate to heavenly things. Money is a 
temptation and danger, vi. 20, 25, x. 41, 42, xii. 13-34, 
xvi. 1-13, 16-31, xviii. 23-30, xxi. 1-4. 

3. What advice did he give regarding social 

intercourse, giving and attending feasts, 
etc.? 
His advice was, Do not crowd yourself into high 
places, but wait for others to honor you ; give your social 
attentions to those who cannot repay you, xiv. 7-14. 

4. How were they to feel and act toward those 

who wronged them? 
In a generous and forgiving spirit, vi. 32-35, ix. 52- 
55, xi. 4, xvii. 3, 4. 

5. What did he say about judging one another? 

We are to abstain from judging, vi. 37, 41, 42. 

6. What did he regard as greatness? 

Humility is greatness, ix. 46-48. 
Service is greatness, xxii. 24-27. 

7. Did he ever specially condemn any faults 

of character? 
Hypocrisy, unbelief, covetousness, vi. 42, xi. 29-32, 
37-52, xvi. 14, 15, xviii. 11, xx. 9-18. 

8. Did he suggest any standards of character 

or ways of judging character? 
By their fruits, vi. 44, 45. 



24 

Did he recommend any states of mind to 
be maintained by his followers ? Did 
he recommend any habits ? 

Love, vi. 27. 

Generosity, vi. 30-38. 

Trust in God, xii. 22-32. 

Watchfulness, xii. 22-32. 

Right use of money, xvi. 9. 

Prayer, xviii. 1. 

Humility, xviii. 14. 

10. Did he approve of generosity and by what 

standard did he measure it? 
Yes; and he measured it by the ability of the 
giver, not by the absolute amount of the gift, xxi. 1-4. 

11. Whom did Jesus regard as most blessed? 
Those who in earthly trials have spiritual charac- 
ters, vi. 20-22. 

Those who understand Jesus, vii. 23, x. 23. 
Those who obey God, xi. 28. 
Those who are found watching, xii. 37. 
Those whom God (not man) repays, xiv. 14. 
Those whose names are written in heaven, x. 20. 



LESSON VII. 



HUMAN LIFE AND DESTINY. 

The general teaching is that what is done in 
this life decides destiny in the next. 



25 

1. What did Jesus teach regarding the resur- 

rection? 

At the resurrection of the just our hospitality to 
the poor will be rewarded, xiv. 14. 

Those who attain to the resurrection do not marry, 
xx. 27-38. 

They are equal to the angels. 

The fact of the resurrection is proved by God's 
words to Moses. 

2. Did he tell anything of the experiences of 

souls in the next life? Will there be any 
separation of good and bad? 

There is a great reward in heaven for the perse- 
cuted, vi. 23. 

Those who are rich, full, and who laugh now will 
have woe then, vi. 24, 25. 

He who loses earthly life will save true life, ix. 24. 

Jesus will be ashamed of those who are ashamed 
of him, but will confess those who confess him, ix. 26, 
xii. 8. 

It will be more tolerable for the heathen and those 
of less light than for those who have had most light, x. 
13, xi. 31, 32. 

Those who have not entered the narrow door will 
see the patriarchs and prophets and people from all parts 
of the world in the kingdom, but will be themselves cast 
forth, xiii. 24-29. 

Lazarus found himself after death in a happy 
place, and Dives found himself in a place of flame, xvi. 
19-31. 

Rewards will be according to faithfulness, xix. 
1 1-27. 

Jesus will feast with the apostles in the kingdom, 
xxii. 15-18,30. 



26 

He promised the penitent malefactor that he 
should go to paradise, xxiii. 43. 

3. Did he teach any connection between char- 

acter and actions here and destiny there? 
He taught that character and action here deter- 
mine destiny in the other world. Most of the references 
under Question 2 prove this. 

4. Can any provision be made for the next 

life? 
Treasure can be laid up in heaven by deeds of 
kindness, right use of money, sacrifices for Christ, hospi- 
tality, faithfulness, etc., vi. 23, 35, xii. 33, xiv. 14, xvi. 9, 
25, xviii. 29, 30, xix. 11-25, xxii. 29. 

5. How did he regard earthly wealth viewed 

in relation to the future life? 
He regarded it as wholly inferior, xii. 33, ix. 25. 

6. Will any persons be disappointed in the 

next world? 
Many will be disappointed, xiii. 24-27. 

7. Will any earthly conditions be reversed 

there? 
Many who are here regarded as fortunate will be 
unfortunate there and vice versa. See references under 
Question 2. 

8. Did he indicate the time and manner of 

his second coming? 

He will come with the glory of his Father and of 
the angels, ix. 26. 

The time will be a surprise ; all must watch, xii. 
35-40, xvii. 22-37. 

All of the ordinary operations of society will be 
going on then. 



27 

There will be a separation of those who are most 
closely associated. 

In some way it was connected with the destruction 
of Jerusalem, xxi. 20-27. 

It was to be within that generation, xxi. 32. 



LESSON VIII. 



PRAYER AND PRAISE. 

The Gospel of Luke is remarkable for its full- 
ness of instruction upon prayer and praise. 

1. Make a list of all the occasions on which 
Jesus is said to have prayed. 

He prayed at his baptism, iii. 21. 

He prayed alone in the desert, v. 16. 

He prayed all night on the mountain before choos- 
ing the twelve, vi. 12. 

He prayed alone with his disciples, ix. 1 8. 

He was praying when transfigured, ix. 28, 29. 

He thanked God for revealing the truth to babes, 
x. 21. 

He was praying just before he taught the Lord's 
prayer, xi. 1. 

He gave thanks over both cup and bread in insti- 
tuting the Lord's supper (whence the name Eucharist, 
thanksgiving), xxii. 17-19. 

It was his custom to pray in Gethsemane, and 
there he prayed in his agony, xxii. 39-46. 



28 

He prayed for the forgiveness of those who cruci- 
fied him, xxiii. 34. 

He prayed just before he died, xxiii. 46. 

He asked a blessing over the bread at Emmaus* 
xxiv. 30. 

2. Do we know what he prayed for ? Was 

prayer an important part of his life ? 

In some of the cases mentioned above we know 
what he prayed for, in others we do not. Prayer was 
the constant mood of his life. 

3. What instructions did he give his disciples 

about prayer, its form, its conditions, etc. ? 

In compliance with their request he taught them 
how to pray, giving the Lord's prayer as a model, xi. 1-4. 
It shows that prayer should be simple, direct, and brief. 
The objects of prayer are God's glory and kingdom, 
our own temporal wants, the forgiveness of our sins, 
deliverance from temptation. 

A forgiving spirit is indispensable to acceptable 
prayer. 

Humility is essential, xviii. 10-14. 

Importunity is often necessary, xi. 5-8, xviii. 1-7. 

Prayer is sure of an answer, xi. 9. 

God is more ready to answer prayer than an earthly 
father. 

He is especially ready to give the Holy Spirit, xi. 

11-13- 

God meets the prayer of penitence with immeas- 
urable welcome, xv. 21-23. 

God's house is a house of prayer, xix. 46. 

Prayer is a safeguard against temptation, xxii. 46. 



2 9 

4. What hymns are there in the book of Luke? 

The Magnificat of Mary, i. 46-55. 
The Benedictus of Zacharias, i. 67-79. 
The Gloria in Excelsis of the angels, ii. 14. 
The Nunc Dimittis of Simeon, ii. 29-30. 
(These titles are taken from the opening words of 
the respective passages in the Latin Bible. ) 

5. What are the ideas in these hymns? 

Joy in God, in his might, in his grace to the lowly 
and needy, his mercy, his righteous dealings with the 
proud, his faithfulness to Israel. 

Joy in the coming of peace and salvation to all 
nations. 

Joy of personal participation in God's salvation. 

6. Find the instances in the book where joy, 

praise, thanksgiving, and glorifying God 
are mentioned. 

The shepherds glorified and praised God, ii. 20. 

The prophetess Anna gave thanks to God, ii. 38. 

The paralytic and all glorified God, v. 25, 26. 

Those who saw the miracle at Nain glorified God, 
vii. 16. 

The seventy returned with joy, x. 17. 

Jesus rejoiced in spirit, x. 21. 

The healed woman and the multitude rejoiced, 
xiii. 13, 17. 

The Samaritan leper gave thanks and glorified 
God, xvii. 15-18. 

The blind man and the people glorified and praised 
God, xviii. 43. 

Zaccheus received Jesus joyfully, xix. 6. 

The multitude rejoiced on Palm Sunday, xix. 37. 



30 

The centurion glorified God, xxiii. 47. 

The last fact mentioned in the book is that the dis- 
ciples after the ascension returned to Jerusalem with 
great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing 
God, xxiv. 52, 53. 



LESSON IX. 



VARIOUS TEACHINGS OF JESUS- 

(The class may omit a part of these questions if 
the lesson is found too long, but it will 
be better to give at least general 
answers to all.) 

1. What do we learn from this book regarding 
God the Father? 

He is kind to the unthankful; he is merciful, vi. 
35, 36. 

He testified to Jesus as his beloved Son, his 
chosen, ix. 35. 

Jesus thanked him for revealing the gospel to 
babes, x. 21. 

Jesus alone knows and can reveal him, x. 22. 

He is ready to hear prayer and especially ready to 
give the Holy Spirit, xi. 13. 

He remembers the birds, but values men more, 
xii. 6, 23. 

He will give the kingdom to Christ's flock, xii. 32. 

He longs for the salvation of sinners, xv. 



31 

He abominates what men exalt, xvi. 15. 
He will avenge his elect, xviii. 7. 
He has appointed for Jesus a kingdom, xxii. 29. 
Jesus yielded to his will, xxii. 42. 
He had promised the Holy Spirit to the disciples, 
xxiv. 49. 

2. What do we learn regarding the Holy 

Spirit? 

Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, i. 15. 

Jesus was baptized with the Holy Spirit, iii. 2. 

Everything that Jesus did was done through the 
Holy Spirit, iv. 1, 14, 18. 

Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit, iii. 16. 

Men and women were filled with the Spirit and 
spoke. John the Baptist, i. 15; Elizabeth, i. 41; Zach- 
arias, i. 67; Simeon, ii. 25. 

God gives the Spirit, xi. 13. 

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not forgiven, 
xii. 10. 

The Holy Spirit taught the disciples what to say, 
xii. 12. 

3. What do we learn about angels? 

Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, i. 11, and to Mary, 
i. 26. 

An angel appeared to the shepherds, ii. 9. 

A multitude of the heavenly host sang, ii. 13. 

Jesus will appear in the glory of the angels, ix. 26. 

He will confess and deny before the angels, xii. 8. 

There is joy in the presence of the angels over 
repentant sinners, xv. 10. 

Angels carried Lazarus to Abraham's bosom, xvi. 
22. 

An angel strengthened Jesus in the garden, xxii. 
43. 



32 

Two angels appeared to the women at the sepul- 
chre, xxiv. 4. 

4. What do we learn of Satan, devils, and 
unclean spirits? 

The devil tempted Jesus in the desert, iv. 2. 

The devil takes the word from the heart of the 
hearer, viii. 12. 

Jesus saw Satan fall as lightning from heaven, x. 

18. 

Satan cannot oppose himself, xi. 18. 

Satan bound an infirm woman eighteen years, 
xiii. 16. 

Satan entered into Judas, xxii. 13. 

Satan desired to have all of the disciples, xxii. 31. 

Many were possessed with demons and these Jesus 
cast out, iv. 33, 41, viii. 2, 27, ix. 42, xi. 14, xiii. 32. 

Demons entered into swine, viii. 33. 

Jesus gave the disciples power over them, ix. 1. 
Others also exercised this power, ix. 49. 

Jesus was accused of casting out demons through 
Beelzebub, xi. 15. 

These demons are also called unclean spirits, iv. 33. 

An unclean spirit may return to an empty soul and 
bring seven others, xi. 26. 

5. What do we learn of the relation of sin and 

earthly calamity? 

Those who suffer calamities are no worse than 
others, xiii. 2-5. 

6. What do we learn regarding the Sabbath? 

It is lawful to get food for the hungry on the Sab- 
bath, vi. 2, and to heal the sick, vi. 6, xiii. 10-16, xiv. 1-6. 
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, vi. 5. 



33 

7. What do we learn regarding- divorce? 

He who divorces his wife and marries another 
commits adultery. (No just ground of divorce is men- 
tioned. ) 

8. What sort of experiences did Jesus foretell 

for his disciples? 

They should be as lambs among wolves, x. 3. 

They should be brought before synagogues and 
rulers, and should suffer persecution, xii. 11, xxi. 12-18. 

They should receive manifold more than they had 
sacrificed, xviii. 29, 30. 

There should be divisions in families, xii. 51-53. 

9. What did he predict regarding Jerusalem? 

Its terrible and utter destruction, xix. 41-44, xxi. 
5-24. 



LESSON X. 



THE DEATH OF JESUS. 

1. From the beginning of chapter xxii. to xxiii. 
49, taking the paragraphs of the Revised 
Version, state in as few words as possi- 
ble the principal point (or two or three 
points) of each paragraph. Luke has a 
purpose in mentioning each fact that he 
states : find what that purpose is. What 



34 

general impressions regarding the death 
of Jesus does Luke wish to make? 

The religious leaders of the nation plot to murder 
Jesus, but the common people are on his side. 

Satan enters Judas, base treachery for a paltry- 
sum of money. 

Calmly the Master goes forward with his prepar- 
ations. 

He institutes a memorial of his death. 

i 

The greatness of humble service, personal interest 
of Jesus in each disciple, self-confidence of Peter. 

Jesus oppressed with sense of coming crisis, the 
disciples without perception. 

Jesus' habit of prayer, his agony, his submissive- 
ness, inefficiency of the disciples. 

Baseness of betrayal by a kiss, Peter's ill-timed 
zeal ; kindness and dignity of Jesus. 

Peter's cowardly denial, patient love of Jesus. 

Cruel levity of the men that held Jesus. 

Jesus solemnly declares himself the Christ, Son of 
God. 

Pilate acquits Jesus ; Jesus declares himself King 
of the Jews. 

Mutual compliments of the base politicians, Pilate 
and Herod. 

Coarse curiosity and irreverence of Herod ; dignity 
of Jesus. 

Persistent malice of the chief priests. 

Barabbas preferred to Christ; guilty weakness 
of Pilate. 

Exhaustion of Jesus under the cross. (Not enough 
is told of Simon to enable us to characterize him. ) 



35 

Helpless sympathy of the wailing women ; Jesus 
is aware what the consequences of rejecting him must 
be. 

Shame of being executed between two malefactors. 

Rough unconsciousness of the soldiers in their 
dreadful work, forgiving spirit of Jesus, indecent mock- 
ery of the rulers and soldiers, sublime and true inscrip_ 
tion. 

While dying Jesus sublimely saves the penitent 
malefactor, awful spectacle of the other malefactor 
expending his last moments of life in railing on the only 
Saviour. 

The gloom of nature, end of the old dispensation 
in the rending of the veil, peaceful trust of Jesus at the 
end. The centurion, the simple, honest soldier accus- 
tomed to see men die, is impressed with the certainty 
that this was a righteous man. 

2. Make a list of all the persons mentioned in 
this passage and name the qualities that 
they exhibit. 

Chief priests and elders, hypocrites, unscrupulous, 
cruel, spiteful, without respect for law, or innocence, or 
their own personal dignity. 

Judas, basely treacherous, selling his Master for 
$15, and using a kiss, the most sacred sacrament of love, 
as the sign of betrayal. 

Peter, honest but ignorant of himself, over confi- 
dent, impulsive, weak, penitent. 

The disciples as a body, superficial, without any 
appreciation of the crisis, ambitious, wholly unable to 
give any help. 

"The men that held Jesus," cruel, thoughtless. 



36 

Pilate, a man of right impulses with a clear sense 
of justice, but weak to the point of sacrificing his honor 
as a judge, and giving up an innocent man to a cruel 
death. 

Herod, profane curiosity, brutal levity. 

The wailing women, helpless sympathy. 

The soldiers, mere military machines. 

One malefactor, penitence at the last moment ; the 
other, the awful folly and wickedness of dying with pro- 
fane railings on the lips. 

The centurion, soldierly honesty. 

3. What do we learn of Jesus from his actions 
and words in this passage? 

His calm foresight of the whole. 

His thoughtfulness for the present and future, the 
completeness of his plan, his tender individual love for 
his very human disciples. 

The tenderness and sensitiveness of his heart, and 
his pain at treachery, injustice and shame. 

His humility, his faithfulness, his habit of prayer. 

His deep agony, yet perfect submission. 

His kindness in healing the wounded servant. 

His forbearance and non-resistance. 

His absolute claims to be Messiah, Son of God, 
and King of the Jews. 

His sublime dignity in the midst of indignities. 

His forgiving spirit. 

His grace to the penitent malefactor. 

His trustful death. 

Nothing that men could do to him could in any 
way lessen the glory of his personality, or lessen our 
adoration of him. 



37 
LESSON XI. 



THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION OF 
JESUS* 

1. Was the burial of Jesus dignified or shame- 

ful? 

All of the shame ceased with his death. His 
burial was in every way worthy ; Joseph was an honor- 
able man of high station; the tomb was new and hewn 
in the rock ; the shroud was of linen ; there were spices 
and ointments prepared. 

2. What impressive circumstances were con- 

nected with the resurrection? 
It occurred at the appropriate hour of dawn. 
The stone was supernaturally rolled away. 
Angels in dazzling apparel were in attendance. 
The shroud was laid aside. 

3. How many appearances of the risen Jesus 

does Luke mention? 
That on the road to Emmaus. 
That to Simon, xxiv. 34. 
That to the eleven and the rest. 
That at the time of his ascension. 

4. What are the most interesting points in the 

story of the walk to Emmaus? 

The genuine and natural grief of the disciples. 
The divine skill of the Master in drawing out the 
story and in enlightening their minds. 

The hospitable but unconscious invitation. 



38 

The beautiful custom by which Jesus was recog- 
nized. 

The unspeakable joy of the recognition. 

The glad haste of the return over the road lately 
begun in deepest gloom. 

5. What was the condition of the risen body of 

Jesus? 

It was the real body of flesh and bones that had 
hung upon the cross. The wounds were still there. He 
could eat fish. But he came and went like a spirit. 

6. Upon what points did Jesus instruct his 

disciples after his resurrection? 
All that he had passed through was in fulfillment 
of Scripture. 

The proclamation of the gospel to all nations. 
Their function as witnesses. 
The gift of the Holy Spirit. 

7. When and how did Jesus finally leave his 

disciples? 
"Over against Bethany," that is, on the top of 
Olivet, while blessing them with uplifted hands he 
passed into heaven. 



Note.— For Lesson XII., which is a Review, the teacher should 
prepare those questions that will best outline the ground which 
has been covered in the preceding Lessons. 



INDUCTIVE STUDIES IN THE BOOK OF 
JEREMIAH. 

(As a general preparation for these lessons the teacher is 
advised to read the author's booklet "Jeremiah," price fifteen 
cents.) 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS* 

These studies in Jeremiah are designed to 
follow those in the book of Luke ; consequently 
it is unnecessary to repeat here what has been 
said regarding the general method of inductive 
study and teaching in the preliminary remarks 
to those studies. 

On account of the great length of the book of 
Jeremiah it has been thought best to assign 
readings for each week in which the student 
may find answers for his questions. Mature 
students will not, however, feel restricted to the 
passages mentioned. To some the readings 
may seem long, but in twenty minutes a day 
they can easily be covered. 

The book of Jeremiah is probably the best 
with which to begin the more careful study of 
the Old Testament. It has a dramatic interest 



40 

of its own which soon awakens and fastens 
attention. Jeremiah is the pivotal character 
of the Old Testament. From this standpoint 
one looks backward over the history of the 
prophets and the monarchy, and forward over 
the exile and the return. Once interested in 
Jeremiah one is interested in the profoundest 
significance of all that precedes and all that fol- 
lows. The blending of prophecy and history 
in the book is most fortunate for an introduc- 
tion to both. 

Without question the best edition of the 
Revised Version for Old Testament study is the 
"Bourgeois 8vo. References/' price in cloth 
about $1.00. 



LESSON XIII. 



KING JOSIAH. 

In order to understand the Book of Jeremiah it 
will be necessary to study in connection 
some parts of other books, particularly 
II. Kings. Read II. Kings xxii. 1 — 
xxiii. 30, Jer. i. 1-3. 

1. Make a list of the principal events in the 

reign of Josiah. 

He became king when eight years old, his father 
having been assassinated. 

In his thirteenth year Jeremiah began to prophesy. 

In his eighteenth year he undertook the repair of 
the temple. 

In the course of this repair Hilkdah found the book 
of the law in the temple. 

The king, alarmed, instituted a thorough reforma- 
tion. 

The Passover was kept in an unexampled way. 

Josiah died in battle at Megiddo. 

2. Make a list of his reforms. Find the pas- 

sages in the book of the law upon which 



42 

his reforms were based. (Use a refer- 
ence Bible and a concordance.) 

He brought out from the temple the vessels of 
Baal, the Asherah and the host of heaven, based on 
Deut xvii. 3. 

He put down the idolatrous priests, Deut. xvii. 3, 
5, also Deut. xiii. 

He brought out the Asherah from the temple, 
Deut. xvi. 21. 

He broke down the houses of the Sodomites that 
were in the temple, Deut. xxiii. 17. 

He brought the priests away from the high places 
and defiled those places, Deut. xii. 2-6. 

He defiled Topheth, where children had been sac- 
rificed, Deut. xii. 31 and xviii. 10. 

He took away the horses of the sun and burned 
the chariots of the sun, Deut. xvii. 3. 

He broke down the altars made by Ahaz and 
Manasseh, Deut. xvii. 3. 

He defiled the high places that Solomon had 
made, Deut. xii. 13 and xvii. 3. 

He broke down the altar at Bethel, Deut. xii. 2-14. 

He took away the sacred houses of the cities of 
Samaria, Deut. xii. 2-14. 

He slew all the priests of the high places in 
Samaria, Deut. xiii. and xvii. 2-7. 

He put away all witches, teraphim, etc., from 
Judah and Jerusalem, Deut. xviii. 9-14. 

Josiah's general apprehensions of wrath were 
based on Deut. xxix. 27; his resort to prophetic advice 
was based on Deut. xviii. 15 ; his public covenant for the 
people was based on Deut. xiii. 4; his keeping of the 
Passover was based on Deut. xvi. 1-8. 



43 

3. What were the two great foreign powers in 

Josiah's time? What attitude did he take 
toward them and with what result? 
The two great powers were Egypt on the south- 
west and Assyria on the east. Josiah took sides against 
Egypt and fell in battle at Megiddo, II. Kings xxiii. 29. 

4. Give an estimate of his character. 

Singularly noble, earnest, prompt and energetic; 
the last worthy king of Judah; one of the best, if not 
himself the best, of all. 

General Question: Who founded the dynasty of 
kings to which Josiah belonged, and how 
many kings of that line reigned before 
him? 
David founded the dynasty. 

Sixteen kings, including David and not counting 
the usurper, Athaliah, reigned before Josiah. 



LESSON XIV. 



JEHOAHAZ, JEHOIAKIM, AND JEHOIACHIN. 

Read II. Kings xxiii. 30 — xxiv. 17; Jer. xxii. 

10-30, xxvi. 20-23, xxxvi. 1-32, lii. 31-34. 
1. State what power placed each of these upon 

the throne, how he was related to Josiah, 

how long he reigned, and how his reign 

ended. 



44 

Jehoahaz (previously called Shallum) was placed 
upon the throne by the Jews. He was a son of Josiah. 
He reigned three months. Pharaoh-necoh carried him 
captive to Egypt, where he died. 

Jehoiakim (previously called Eliakim) was placed 
upon the throne by Pharaoh-necoh. He was a son of 
Josiah, older than Jehoahaz. He reigned eleven years. 
He died by violence in some way and was flung out with 
4 'the burial of an ass. " 

Jehoiachin (previously called Coniah) naturally 
succeeded his father. He was a grandson of Josiah. He 
reigned three months. Nebuchadnezzar carried him 
captive to Babylon, where he spent thirty-seven years 
in prison, and we know not how many more in the enjoy- 
ment of a more honorable captivity. 

2. Give the principal events in the reign of 
each, and give an estimate of his charac- 
ter. 

Jehoahaz ruled just long enough to show that he 
was weak and wicked. 

Jehoiakim taxed the land heavily to pay tribute to 
Pharaoh-necoh. 

He was subjugated by Nebuchadnezzar, but after 
three years rebelled, and in consequence his land was 
harassed by the Chaldeans and their allies. 

He built a splendid palace of cedar painted with 
vermilion, but he built it by injustice and oppression. 

He shed much innocent blood. 

Jeremiah was active during his reign, but when 
a book of Jeremiah's prophecies was read to Jehoiakim 
the king cut it up and burned it without shame or fear, 
and issued orders for the arrest of the prophet, doubtless 
intending his death. 



45 

He sent into Egypt and brought back and slew 
the prophet Uriah who had prophesied against him. 

His character was that of luxury, self-indulgence, 
oppression, injustice, bloodshed, political rashness and 
folly, contempt of God's word, and murderous hate of His 
prophets. In every respect he was the exact opposite of 
his noble father Josiah. 

Jehoiachin reigned only long enough to show 
that he was weak and wicked. 



LESSON XV. 



KING ZEDEKIAH, 

Read Jer. xxi. 1-10, xxxiv., xxxvii. 1-21, xxxviii. 
1-26, xxxix. 1-7, Hi. 1-11, also xxiv. 1-10, 
xxv. 11, 12, xxvii. 1-22, xxviii. 1-17, xxix. 
1-20, also II. Kings xxiv. 17, II. Chroni- 
cles xxxvi. 11-13. 

1. How was he related to Josiah? What was 

his character? 
He was a son of King Josiah. His name was ori- 
ginally Mattaniah. He was weak, wicked, and vacillat- 
ing. He yielded to any strong influence that was nearest. 

2. What were the principal events in his reign 

and how long was it? 
He reigned eleven years. 
Nebuchadnezzar placed him upon the throne. 



4 6 

Zedekiah subsequently rebelled against him. 

Nebuchadnezzar sent an army against Jerusalem. 

The advance of an Egyptian army caused the 
Chaldeans to abandon the seige. 

Zedekiah, probably in the alarm of the siege, had 
led in a liberation of Hebrew slaves, but later the people 
reduced their freedmen again to bondage. 

At the complaint of the princes, Zedekiah author- 
ized them to do as they wished with Jeremiah, and they 
threw him into the dungeon. 

At the remonstrance of Ebed-melech, Zedekiah 
authorized him to draw Jeremiah up from the dungeon. 

After a siege of eighteen months Jerusalem was 
captured and destroyed. 

Zedekiah, who had fled by night into the Jordan 
valley, was captured near Jericho, taken to Riblah, and 
after being made to look upon the death of his sons, was 
blinded and taken in fetters to Babylon, where he died in 
prison. 

3. What public policy did Jeremiah recom- 
mend? How did Zedekiah treat Jere- 
miah? What policy did he pursue? 

Jeremiah always advocated unconditional surren- 
der to the Chaldeans, and contented submission under 
their government. He prophesied that all the nations 
of western Asia should serve the king of Babylon sev- 
enty years. It is often said that Jeremiah prophesied 
seventy years exile for the Jews. This is not true. The 
desolation of Jerusalem was from B. C. 586 to B. C. 536, 
fifty years. The captivity of those who went with Jehoia- 
chin was eleven years longer. But the supremacy of 
Babylon, from the great victory of Nebuchadnezzar at 
Carchemish over Pharaoh-necoh in 604 to the conquest 



47 

of Cyrus in 536 was almost exactly seventy years, and 
this it was of which Jeremiah prophesied. 

Zedekiah treated Jeremiah with some respect and 
kindness ; he often consulted him, yet through pride and 
cowardice, he failed often to protect the prophet from 
the cruelty of his enemies, and he also failed to follow 
any of his advice, thereby falling into all of the disasters 
from which that advice was intended to save him. 



LESSON XVI. 



JEREMIAH'S MISSION AND SORROWS* 

Read Jer. i. 1-19, iv. 19-31, vii. 16-20, viii. 18- 
22, ix. 1-12, x. 17-25, xi. 18-23, xii. 1-6, 
xiii. 15-17, xiv. 1-18, xv. 1-21, xvi. 1-9, 
xx. 7-18. 

1. From these passages make a statement of 

Jeremiah's feelings in doing his work 

and of the peculiar reasons that he had 

for these feelings. 

When first called Jeremiah felt that he was a mere 

child and wholly unable to speak. 

It was no attractive mission to a young man to be 

called to be an iron pillar and brazen walls against the 

whole land — king, princes, priests and people. 

Jeremiah was pained at his very heart at the 

alarms of war, and the manifold destructions, and the 

folly of the people. 



4 3 

As he looked forward into the future he saw the 
whole earth in utter darkness and desolation. 

He was forbidden to pray for the people because 
they were so devoted to idolatry. 

• He found no comfort since there was no balm for 
the hurt of the daughter of his people. 

He wished that his head were waters so that he 
might weep over the treachery and falsehood of the 
people. 

His wound was grievous at God's purpose to sling 
out the inhabitants of the land. 

He was like a lamb among the men of Anathoth, 
his own townsmen, who were plotting for his life. 

The prosperity of the wicked perplexed him. 

He wept in secret because the Lord's people were 
taken captive. 

There was a dreadful drought, but God forbade 
him to pray for the people. 

There were many false prophets who deceived the 
people. 

Outside the city were the slain with the sword, 
inside those dying by famine. 

Even Moses and Samuel could not have succeeded 
in intercession for those people. Jeremiah had no pros- 
pect to hold out to them but sword, famine and captivity. 

He was universally cursed. 

He was forbidden to marry and have a family. 

He was forbidden to go either to the house of 
mourning or to the house of feasting, since the coming 
horrors were so dreadful. 

He felt that he had been deceived in his hopes as 
a prophet. 

He cursed the day of his birth. 



49 
2. What mental conflicts of Jeremiah are 
revealed in these passages? 
The natural conflicts of a heart peculiarly gentle, 
sympathetic, patriotic, and pious in carrying out a mis- 
sion of denunciation that seemed in the highest degree 
cruel, discouraging, pessimistic, and unpatriotic, and 
which brought upon him the unanimous hatred of high 
and low. 



LESSON XVII. 



SPECIAL INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF JEREMIAH* 

Read xx. 1-4, xxvi., xxviii., xxxii. 6-15, xxxvi. 

1-8, 32, xxxvii. 11-21, xxxviii., xl. 1-6. 
1. State in a few words each of these incidents. 

Jeremiah, after one of his fearful predictions of 
evil to come upon the city, was arrested by Pashhur, the 
chief officer of the temple, and placed in the stocks until 
the next day. This led, however, to no yielding on his 
part, but to a terrific personal prediction against Pashhur 
himself. 

After one of Jeremiah's public addresses the 
priests and prophets urged that he should be put to 
death. Jeremiah declared himself helpless in their hands, 
but reiterated his declaration that the message was from 
God and warned them against the guilt of shedding inno- 
cent blood. A debate as to the prophetic right of free 
speech ensued, the princes and people being as to this 
point on Jeremiah's side. The precedent of Micah 



50 

(Micah iii. 12) was cited. Through the powerful protec- 
tion of Ahikam, Jeremiah escaped, but the principle of 
free speech was not established, and the prophet Uriah, 
who had spoken in the same vein as Jeremiah, was pur- 
sued and brought back to death. 

The false prophet Hananiah prophesied that in 
two years Jehoiachin, and his fellow captives, and the 
sacred vessels, should all be restored from Babylon. He 
broke the symbolic yoke on Jeremiah's neck. Jeremiah 
reiterated his assertion that Nebuchadnezzar was to have 
a long supremacy and predicted the speedy death of 
Hananiah, which occurred. 

At the divine command Jeremiah bought a field in 
Anathoth, although at that very time the Chaldean army 
had possession of the place, and was engaged in the last 
siege of Jerusalem. All of the legal steps were followed 
with scrupulous exactness, and the cash was paid over 
and receipted for. The design of this transaction was 
to testify in the most emphatic manner that the Jews 
should one day come back to their own. 

At the divine command Jeremiah procured a roll 
and dictated to Baruch all of his prophecies up to date. 
Baruch wrote them in the book. This roll having been 
cut to pieces and burned by King Jehoiakim a second 
roll was procured, all of the prophecies rewritten, and 
' 'many like words" added. 

When the Chaldeans were called away from 
besieging Jerusalem by the advance of an Egyptian army, 
Jeremiah started to go to Anathoth, where his home was. 
But Irijah, a captain of the guard at the city gate, arrested 
him on the charge of desertion, and placed him in the 
cells of the dungeon in the house of Jonathan the scribe. 
King Zedekiah seized the opportunity for a secret con- 
sultation, and at Jeremiah's petition placed him in less 



5i 

severe confinement and provided that he should be regu- 
larly supplied with bread. Possibly Jeremiah may have 
been safer here than he could have been elsewhere. But 
the vacillating king, who was so anxious to consult him, 
had not the nerve to follow his advice, and he neither 
freed Jeremiah nor punished him. 

The princes, indignant at Jeremiah's advice to 
surrender, demanded Jeremiah's death. Zedekiah at 
once yielded him up to them. They let him down into a 
miry dungeon, where he would soon have died. Ebed- 
melech, the Ethiopian, represented to the king Jeremiah's 
miserable condition and danger, and the king, with the 
same promptitude with which he had given him up to 
death, authorized his rescue. 

After the destruction of Jerusalem, the Chaldeans 
recognizing Jeremiah's influence as on their side, gave 
him perfect liberty, and he elected to remain in the land 
with Gedaliah. 

2. What impression do you get of Jeremiah's 
circumstances and of his character from 
these incidents? 

Jeremiah had to do a work that seemed in the 
highest degree unpatriotic: he had to counsel submission 
to a foreign foe. He did his work amid the constant 
persecutions of enemies that were plotting his death. 
He was placed in the stocks, arrested on false charges, 
and cast into dungeons. False prophets contradicted 
his teachings. His book was cut up and burned, and he 
himself was hunted by King Jehoiakim. Zedekiah trifled 
with him, but neither obeyed him nor protected him. 
The enemies and destroyers of his country treated him 
as a friend, and this must have been bitter to Jeremiah. 

None but the strongest and most conscientious 
could have continued faithful in such a service to the end. 



52 

LESSON XVIII. 



THE SINS OF ISRAEL. 

Read Jer. ii., v. 1-9, 20-31, vi. 13-15, 28-30, vii. 
1-32, viii. 4-12, ix. 8, 9, xi. 9-14, xiii. 23- 
27, xv. 4, xvii. 1, 2, 19-27, xix. 4-6, xxiii. 
30-40, xxxv. 
1. From these passages make a list of the sins 
rebuked by Jeremiah, and a general esti- 
mate of the moral condition of the Jewish 
people at that time. 
The sin most rebuked is that of forsaking the Lord, 
who had brought them out of Egypt and given them the 
plentiful land of Canaan. The people had gone into 
idolatry, worshiping Baal, the queen of heaven, the sun, 
moon and stars, stocks and stones, idols as numerous as 
their cities. Idolatry is often condemned under the figure 
of adultery on hills, under trees, etc. Idolatrous rites 
were, in fact, often licentious. 

Among poor or great not a man could be found 
doing justly or seeking truth. 

Adultery was common and they gathered in troops 
at the harlots' houses. 

They became rich by deceit. 
They oppressed the fatherless and needy. 
There were many false prophets. 
The priests were faithless to their duty and ruled 
through the help of the false prophets. 

The people loved this corruption of their leaders. 
All were given to covetousness. 
They said, "Peace, peace," when there was no 
peace. 



53 

They rejected the warnings of the true prophets 
and were shameless and unable to blush. 

They slandered. 

They stole and murdered and swore falsely. 

They made God's house a den of robbers. 

They walked in stubbornness and went backward 
rather than forward. 

They broke the Sabbath by working and bearing 
burdens. 

Their idolatrous superstition reached its horrid cli- 
max in the sacrifice of their own babes in such numbers 
that the place was full of the blood of innocents. 

This dreadful state dated especially from the long 
and corrupt reign of King Manasseh, but was, if possi- 
ble, intensified by the sins of the sons of Josiah. 

The moral condition was thus as bad as could be. 
The kings led off in idolatry and all other kinds of sin. 
False prophets, profane priests and corrupt princes 
followed readily. The populace copied the vices of the 
great. Private character was almost universally debased. 
Crime was rampant and unpunished, but righteousness 
was persecuted. A hardened stubbornness and unblush- 
ing shamelessness characterized the nation. Idolatry of 
the grossest kind was practiced with rites involving the 
horrors of child sacrifice and orgies of unspeakable licen- 
tiousness. 



LESSON XIX. 



WOES FORETOLD BY JEREMIAH, 

Read Jer. v. 6, vi. 22-27, vii. 14, 15, 32-34, viii. 
1-3, ix. 10-22, xii. 7-13, xiii. 12-14, xiv. 



54 
10-16, xv. 1-9, xvi. 1-13, xix. 1-15, xx. 
1-6, xxi. 1-10, xxv. 1-38. 

1. Make a list of the various woes predicted 
by Jeremiah. 

The lion, wolf and leopard should slay them. 
(This is probably figurative.) 

A cruel nation from the north with bows and 
spears should spoil them. (All armies from the east had 
to enter the Holy Land from the north, since they could 
not come straight across the desert. Hence eastern 
armies are often spoken of as northern armies. ) 

The place of the temple should be desolate as Shi- 
loh, the earlier sacred place. 

The Jews should be cast out of their land like the 
Ephraimites. 

Topheth should be so full of graves that there 
would be no room for more, and the corpses should lie 
unburied. 

The voice of gladness, of the bridegroom and the 
bride, should be no more heard. (This prediction occurs 
three times.) 

The bones of the kings, priests, prophets and peo- 
ple should be brought out of the tombs and scattered 
before the sun, moon and stars, which they in life wor- 
shiped. 

Death should be preferred to life by those who 
should remain alive and be scattered in exile. 

The mountains should be burned over and silent, 
forsaken by birds and beasts. 

Jerusalem should be heaps, the dwelling of jackals. 



55 

God would give the people wormwood and gall to 
drink. 

God would scatter them among the nations. 

Death should come in at the windows to kill the 
children. 

The carcasses of men should be as dung upon the 
open fields. 

All the inhabitants of the land should be filled with 
drunkenness and dashed against each other without pity. 

God would not accept their sacrifices nor hear 
their prayers. 

They should be slain by sword, famine and pesti- 
lence, and devoured by dogs, fowls and wild beasts. 

The widows should be increased above the sand of 
the sea. 

All the parents and children born in Jerusalem 
should die grievous deaths. 

God would bring evil such that hearing of it 
would make the ears tingle. 

The city should be an astonishment and hissing 
because of its plagues. 

God would break that people as one breaks a pot- 
ter's vessel. 

They should eat the flesh of their own children 
and friends in the siege. 

All Judah should be carried captive and slain. 

All the riches of the city should be given to their 
enemies and carried to Babylon. 

The city should be burnt. 

All of the nations should drink the cup of God's 
fury. 

Beginning with His own people God would punish 
the nations and fill the earth with unburied dead. 



56 
LESSON XX. 



JEREMIAH'S TEACHINGS REGARDING GOD AND 
TRUE RELIGION. 

Read Jer. vii. 21-26, ix. 23, 24, x. 6-16, xi. 1-8, 
xvii. 5-11, 19-27, xviii. 1-12, xxii. 1-4, 
15-17, xxiii. 23-29, xxv. 30, 31. 

1. What truths does Jeremiah teach regarding 
the attributes, character and government 
of God? 

When God brought Israel out of Egypt he gave 
them no commands regarding sacrifices, but commanded 
them to hear his voice and walk in his ways. 

God has been continually sending prophets to them 
ever since he brought them out of Egypt. 

Men should glory not in wisdom, might, or riches, 
but only in knowing God, his loving-kindness, judg- 
ment, and righteousness. 

None is like God in might, wisdom, or royal estate. 
He is the true and living God, the everlasting king. 
Before him the earth trembles, and the nations cannot 
abide his indignation. 

God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. 

He controls the waters, lightnings, rain and winds. 

He is wholly unlike idols which are made by men 
and have no breath. 

God made a covenant of obedience with His people 
when He brought them out of Egypt. He had previ- 
ously sworn to their fathers to give them a land flowing 
with milk and honey. 



57 

The man who trusts in man is cursed, but he who 
trusts in God is like a tree planted by the waters. 

God searches all hearts and gives to every man 
according to his ways. 

All nations are in God's hands as clay is in the hands 
of a potter. When God threatens destruction to a nation, 
repentance will change God's purpose. So when God 
promises benefit, if the nation does evil God will repent 
of the intended good. 

God commands the king and people to do right- 
eousness, to deliver the oppressed, to do no violence 
to stranger, widow or fatherless, to shed no innocent 
blood. 

To judge the cause of the poor and needy is to 
know God. It is well only with those who so do. 

God fills heaven and earth, he is near and far, no 
place is secret to him. 

God's word is like a fire and like a hammer that 
breaks the rock. 

God has a controversy with wicked nations. 

2. What other religious ideas does he empha- 
size? 

Jeremiah hardly emphasizes anything in religion 
beyond the ethical character of God and those natural 
attributes that enable him to govern all things in accord- 
ance therewith. God asks nothing of man but loyalty to 
his commands, and those are only such as enforce jus- 
tice and kindness. The only important thing for man 
is to know God, to be like him, and to have God's favor. 

The duty of hallowing the Sabbath is emphati- 
cally taught. They must not bear burdens or do work on 
that day. 



58 
LESSON XXI. 



JEREMIAH'S MESSAGES OF CHEER* 

Read Jer. xvi. 14-19, xxiii. 1-8, xxx., xxxi., 
xxxii., xxxiii., xxxix. 15-18, 1. 17-20. 

1. Make a list of all the bright and hopeful 
things predicted in these passages. 

The exiled people shall be brought back from all 
of the countries. God's eye is upon their ways. 

God will give them good shepherds who will feed 
the flock. 

God will raise up for David a righteous Branch, 
who shall reign as king and be called the Lord our 
Righteousness. 

God will break the yoke from off the neck of the 
Jews and will make an end of their adversaries. 

God will restore health to Zion. 
The city shall be builded. Thanksgiving and the 
voice of merriment shall proceed from the palaces. 

Their rulers shall be of themselves, not foreigners. 
They shall be God's people and he their God. 

Again the virgin of Israel shall go forth with tim- 
brel and dance. 

Again vineyards shall be planted on the mountains 
of Samaria. 

God will lead the exiles in a straight way by rivers 
of water. 



59 

Their soul shall be as a watered garden ; they sha 1 
not sorrow any more at all. 

The children of weeping Rachel shall be restored. 

God will sow the houses of Israel and Judah with 
the seed of man and of beast. 

The children shall not suffer for the sins of the 
fathers. 

God will make a new covenant and put his law in 
their hearts. All shall know God. 

As long as sun and moon endure shall the seed of 
Israel endure. 

As surely as heaven is immeasurable and the foun- 
dations of the earth unsearchable, so surely will God 
build Jerusalem and it shall be holy and never thrown 
down any more forever. 

Houses and fields shall again be bought in Judah, 
in all parts of the land. 

The people shall have one heart. 

God will make an everlasting covenant with them. 

God will perfectly cleanse Israel and Judah from 
sin and will pardon all of their iniquities. 

Jerusalem shall be a name of joy and praise and 
glory for all nations. 

The voice of bridegroom and bride shall be heard 
in Jerusalem. 

David shall never want a man to sit on his throne, 
nor the Levites want a man to do sacrifices. This cove- 
nant is as sure as day and night. 

The seed of David and of the Levites shall be as 
the host of heaven and as the sand of the sea. 

Ebed-melech shall be saved because he has put 
his trust in the Lord. 



6o 
LESSON XXII. 



EVENTS FOLLOWING THE DESTRUCTION OF 
JERUSALEM* 

Read Jer. xl., xli., xlii., xliii., and xliv. 
1. Make a brief outline of the experiences and 
actions of the Jews who were not carried 
to Babylon, with special attention to the 
part taken by Jeremiah. 

Jeremiah was loosed from his chains and given 
perfect liberty of choice as to where he would go and 
what he would do. He elected to stay in the land. 

The king of Babylon left some of the poorest peo- 
ple to cultivate the land and appointed Gedaliah gov- 
ernor. He made his headquarters at Mizpah. 

The scattered bodies of soldiers and the refugees 
from the surrounding countries gathered back to Geda- 
liah and a hopeful revival of agriculture began. 

Gedaliah was informed that Ishmael was plotting 
against him, but he attached no importance to the report. 

So Ishmael came with ten men, murdered Geda- 
liah and his immediate supporters, and fled with the 
women and booty toward Ammon. 

Johanan and his friends pursued Ishmael and 
recovered the captives and booty, but failed to capture 
Ishmael. They returned and made their headquarters 
near Bethlehem. 

Fearing what the king of Babylon might do to 
punish the insurrection, the people now proposed to go 
to Egypt, and consulted Jeremiah, promising to follow 
his advice. 



6i 

After ten days Jeremiari replied that they must 
stay in the land. 

But the people refused to believe that this was a 
genuine word of God, and they went into Egypt. Jere- 
miah went with them. 

There he prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would 
come and smite the land. 

Jeremiah rebuked the people for continuing the 
idolatry which had already brought upon them so many 
divine chastisements. 

They indignantly replied that the facts were just 
opposite, that it was the neglect of idolatry that had 
caused their troubles, and they asserted their purpose of 
greater zeal in idolatry. 

Jeremiah therefore, predicted that they all would 
be consumed in Egypt by sword and pestilence, and that 
Pharaoh-hophra would meet the fate of Zedekiah. 

We see Jeremiah for the last time, as he stands 
before the infatuated and obstinate people, pronouncing 
their dreadful curse. 



LESSON XXIII. 



GENERAL HISTORY OF JERUSALEM AND THE 

TEMPLE. 

Read Judges i. 21, II. Sam. v. 4-12, vii. 1-17, 
I. Kings iv. 21-28, vi., Jer. xxv. 8-12, 
Hi. 12-30, Ps. cxxxvii., Ezra i., iii., iv. 1- 

5, v. 1-5, vi. 13-15, vii. 1-10, Neh. ii. 1-18. 



62 

1. From these passages make out an outline 
history of the city of Jerusalem and of 
the temple. It will be well to consult 
some Bible dictionary or other work of 
reference (Barton's The Psalms and 
Their Story contains excellent chronolog- 
ical tables) for the principal dates. Bible 
students will find it convenient to fix in 
mind once for all four or five of the 
important dates of Scripture history, 
such as those of the building, destruction 
and rebuilding of the temple. 

When Israel entered Canaan the Jebusites were 
living in Jerusalem. The children of Benjamin, in 
whose territory the city lay (it was just on the boundary 
of Judah), could not drive out the Jebusites, but occupied 
a part of the city along with them. 

David first captured the stronghold of Zion from 
the Jebusites and he made Jerusalem the capital city. 
He built a palace and planned to build the temple, but 
that work was assigned to his son. 

Solomon ruled in Jerusalem in great splendor. In 
his fourth year he began the temple and finished it in 
seven years, B. C. 966. It was built of stone and cedar 
and overlaid with gold. 

Jeremiah predicted the destruction of city and 
temple and subjection of all nations to Babylon. This 
prediction was fulfilled in the reign of Zedekiah; the 
temple was destroyed and its furniture carried to Baby- 
lon, B. C. 586. 

In Babylon the Jews felt the keenest homesickness 
for Jerusalem. 



6 3 

Just fifty years after the destruction, B. C. 536, 
Cyrus the Great, having conquered Babylon, issued a 
decree permitting the Jews to return to Jerusalem and 
rebuild the temple. He restored the sacred vessels. 
Joshua and Zerubbabel were the leaders in the return. 
They rebuilt the altar and restored regular sacrifices. 

In the second year of the return the foundations of 
the temple were laid, but the opposition of the neighbor- 
ing adversaries arrested the work. 

The prophets Haggai and Zechariah again aroused 
zeal, and in spite of opposition the approval of Darius 
was secured and the temple was completed, B. C. 516. 

Ezra went up to Jerusalem to promote the knowl- 
edge of the law of Moses, B. C. 458. Some recent 
scholars date Ezra's work sixty years later. 

Nehemiah went up and led in rebuilding the wall 
of Jerusalem, B. C. 444. Thus finally, the work of res- 
toration was completed, though nothing was so splendid 
as in the time of Solomon. 



LESSON XXIV. 



REMARKABLE PASSAGES IN THE BOOK OF 
JEREMIAH. 

1. In studying the book of Jeremiah you must 
have been impressed with many remark- 
able verses or passages. Make a list of 
the most interesting of these, 
i. 4-10, ii. 13, iii. 4, 22, 23, iv. 23-31, v. 30, 31, vi. 

14, vii. 3-7, 21-23, 34, viii. 7, 18-22, ix. 1-6, 23, 24, x. 23, 

24, xiii. 23, xvi. 14-17, xvii. 1, 5-11, xviii. 5-10, xxii. 13-30, 

xxiii. 23, 24, xxxi. 1-20 33-37. 



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